Chemistry Department News

The same organization famous for bringing boys into the wild will now be bringing boys into the lab.

Under the direction of other scouting volunteers tasked with developing a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), Lee Hansen, a retired chemistry professor, and his daughter, Thea Buell, have volunteered to write articles for BSA’s magazine,Boys' Life.

On October 26, the Journal of Chromatography A published a special issue in honor of Dr Milton L Lee, a distinguished and respected researcher in the scientific community and at Brigham Young University.

The issue was organized by Lee’s former students and colleagues, and each article included in the issue was written or co-written by someone who worked with and was influenced by Lee. The foreword, written by Doug Raynie, a former graduate student ...

The Chemical & Engineering News (C&E News) recently highlighted a paper by collaborators Dr Daniel Ess of BYU and Dr László Kürti of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The research details the experiment and theory of a new organic reagent that converts aryl boronic acids to primary aromatic amines.

The article was published Oct. 22 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). C&E News referenced it in their Nov. 5 ...

Posted:
Nov 01, 2012

The cotton disappeared in a flash of fire. Dr Steve Wood smiled at the scattered oohs, aahs and yelps from the audience as he lifted the tile square the cotton had been sitting on, emphasizing the tile’s emptiness. He put down the tile, picked up another piece of nitric acid-treated cotton and made a show of laying it on his bare palm, turning his head as if afraid to watch as he aimed his ...

But it’s not. Two years ago, Japanese scientists found a chemical compound inside of deep-sea sponges that helps destroy certain cancer cells.

The compound yaku’amide A is likely produced by bacteria that only grow in a certain type of deep-sea sponge. But it grows in such low quantities that it’s rather impractical to try to harvest. The more practical solution is ...

Posted:
Oct 25, 2012

Marinda Li Wu, president-elect of the American Chemical Society, gracefully accepted an invitation from Dr Wayne Anderson to come to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at BYU on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 22 and 23, 2012.

When someone develops liver cancer, the disease introduces a very subtle difference to their bloodstream, increasing the concentration of a particular molecule by just 10 parts per billion.

That small shift is difficult to detect without sophisticated lab equipment – but perhaps not for long. A new “lab on a chip” designed by Brigham Young University professor Adam Woolley and his students reveals the presence of ultra-low concentrations of a target molecule.

Posted:
Oct 19, 2012

Reed M. Izatt was honored for his numerous contributions to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry with the Distinguished Pillar Award at the Homecoming Alumni Dinner on Friday, Oct. 12.

Paul Savage, professor of organic chemistry, gave a brief introduction of Dr. Izatt prior to presenting the award on behalf of the department. Of the top 10 faculty members at BYU in number of scholarly publications, eight are chemists, including Izatt. Izatt also has the ...